mikey287 wrote:That's a lot of pressure on some young players to make a big difference on a big stage. Bennett is accountable for 21 minutes a night? Bortuzzo the same? With no NHL experience, that's asking a lot in a 10-game season much less one that we went to turn from 48 to 70...

Not saying it's right or wrong, but it's tough to put a low-mid level prospect like Bortuzzo into the fire like that and expect it to turn out well...that's a lot of minutes...probably more than he plays in the AHL...

Yeah, I forgot to add to my list that I would account for the extra work I was giving Bennett by moving Sutter or Kennedy up for occasional shifts during the game with the big guys. As for Bortuzzo's minutes, your 3rd pairing rarely gets a ton anyway.

Instead of trading for a top six forward, why don't we give Sutter a chance to play along side Crosby or Malkin and see how he does? Getting a decent 3rd line center would be easier than a 60 pt. winger, assuming that we don't play Kennedy or one of our other grinders there to replace him.

Been watching this thread and had a few thoughts:1) Yes, Lovejoy had an absolutely horrible playoff series. But wasn't he just coming back from knee surgery? Any chance he was just off his game? His regular season play wasn't bad, if I recall. He may be better than we think. Anybody have a thought on that?

2) It's been pointed out a few times that we won the Cup in 2009 with big, tough, stay-at-home defensemen. I think we desperately need one if the Pens are going to hoist the Cup again any time soon. The clock is ticking on all our major talent. It's time - this season - (and I think Shero will do a great job) to find and sign / trade for the missing pieces.

3) The shortened season will play to Fleury's strengths (not too many games) and of course, Vokoun's not chopped liver, either.

As is the team can make the playoffs with the current roster, so i agree wih most we don't need to make cahnges just for the sake to make them. But at trade deadline we can see what the highest pressing need is and go from there. If Despres isn't faiing well we can go for a depth defencman, if we need a top 6 winger we can go there.

But honestly having all these deoth on defence is gonna go to waste if you don't get 1 or 2 NHL experience. If one guy pans out you might not need to trade for a D man. And even if he pans out that is another asset you can use to trade to get the peice you need.

I still cannot fathom that Gomez once put together a 33 goal season. He was always a borderline 20 goal scorer good for about 50+ pts per season.

The Canadiens deserve what they get due to their fan-bases behavior. Best was a few years ago when two French-Canadiens were asking Where to party outside of the old Mellon during a smoke break at intermission, and one dude told them to check out the Hazelwood for all the hot young spots.

Shero is not in a bad position at all because the team is set in goal, plus the top two lines and the top 4 defense is basically set. It's complimentary players that are needed, and those guys can be had for picks and mid-level prospects. RS just needs to pick these guys carefully, because these are the type of players that can be huge come playoff time, especially in the event of an injury or two. With as much cap space as he has, money should not be an issue, particularly if these players are in the last year of a contract.

No reason to worry at all about the offensive lines. The 1st, 3rd and, 4th lines are as good as you could possibly wish for, and Geno and Neal will tear it up no matter who completes that line. There's always room for improvement, but we're sitting pretty as it is.

If I were the GM, I would have ponied up a 3rd for Mark Fistric and seen if I could have gotten a 6th for any of our fringe NHL d-men...longshot on the latter, but Fistric is a crease clearer on the cheap...that would have solved our #6, leaving us with a definite #1, #5 and #6. Plus a probable #3 and/or 4. Better than nothing...

Since when do we have a problem with our #6 slot on defense? I'm pretty sure the issue in camp right now is that we have too many defensemen competing for that spot.

If anything, our problem on defense is in the top 4. Niskanen is an unproven commodity playing top 4 minutes; as is Despres if he gets a shot. And Martin's play has been seriously lacking. You have to let them all play though to see if the hole can be filled internally.

That's not at all unfair. I just identify Fistric as someone that would fit well into our system and if you can lock up 15 minutes for a 3rd round pick, sometimes you just do it and deal with the consequences. The Pens seem to agree with you over me, they feel they have an option internally...I'd like to believe that too and I hope it turns out that way...

And Edmonton's 3rd would be roughly equal to our 2nd. Not sure a bottom pairing guy is worth that. Need to wait in case one of our question marks in the top 4 falls flat. Then we'd have to aim higher than Fistric.